The BEST Bao Buns Recipe & Video - Seonkyoung Longest (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between steamed bun and Bao bun? ›

Bao Buns (pronounced “bow”), but also known as a 'steamed buns' or 'baozi' 包子, are a delicious, warm, fluffy treat of stuffing wrapped inside a sweet, white dough. Made with a mix of flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, milk and oil, the bao is a tad sweeter than its closely related cousin, the dumpling.

Buns can be made up to a day in advance and steamed to re-heat before serving.

Cover with parchment paper to prevent them drying out while you roll the rest.

If you're looking for the fluffiest buns, use cake flour which is low in gluten. Bread flour, which is high in gluten, is acceptable but it results in a chewier texture. You can replace ⅕ of the bread flour with cornstarch to lower its gluten level.

Bao buns are generally considered healthy, made with whole-wheat flour and typically contain healthy fillings, such as lean meat and fresh vegetables.

A gua bao, also known as a pork belly bun, bao, or bao bun, is a type of lotus leaf bun originating from Fujianese cuisine in China. It is also a popular snack in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Nagasaki Chinatown in Japan.

Eat the buns warm! If they cool off, you can reheat them once more by steaming again for ~2 minutes.

When it comes to the dip, hoisin sauce, sweet chilli or a simple soy sauce with sesame oil make great pairings. We love to eat bao alongside some bouncy or zingy veggies. For zingy veg, we suggest some quick pickled cucumber.

You can replicate a steamer with very little effort by placing your buns in a common kitchen sieve or colander, then suspending it over boiling water. Creating a tower from plates and tea towels will stop the steam from escaping, causing your buns to steam cook!

It's possible that the steam collecting at the top of the lid is condensing and falling onto your steamed buns. If you use a bamboo steamer, or tie a cloth on top of the steamer cover, this could help solve that problem. There's also the possibility that the dough was overproofed, or the dough recipe isn't right.

How to tell if steamed buns are done? ›

Place frozen Buns into a lightly oiled steamer and cover. Steam the Buns over boiling water for approx. 15 minutes. Buns are cooked when the meat inside is steaming hot.

In order to get white bao, many Chinese American cooks use low-gluten (low-protein), bleached cake flour for their bao dough; cake flour is milled from soft wheat and has 8 to 10% gluten/protein. To make up for the flour's lack of gluten a touch of vinegar is added to result in more chewy dough.

The secret to soft, light rolls, if you're looking for something like a dinner roll, is an enriched dough that contains butter or other dairy, eggs, or both. If you want something more bread-like, you want a high hydration dough that's been properly kneaded and given at least two bulk fermentations before shaping.

Try basting your buns for moisture and flavor.

"Using melted butter with just a 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin can totally transform a boring bun."

In terms of cooking, baos are usually steamed, baked, and sometimes pan-fried. On the other hand, dumplings are cooked in many different ways, from steaming to boiling and frying. When it comes to similarities, both usually have the same type of filling made from meat or vegetables.

Mantou (traditional Chinese: 饅頭; simplified Chinese: 馒头), often referred to as a Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name mantou to a tale about Zhuge Liang.

I'm using a bamboo steamer which I pop on top of a pot of boiling water, but you can use a normal steamer too. Whatever you do, remember to line your steamer! The bao will stick if you don't and it will be a big mess. Steam for 10 minutes and they're done and ready to be filled.

As mentioned before Bao Buns are also commonly referred to as “bao, bay, pow, pau, paoare, Mantou, baozi, humbow, nunu, bakpao, bausak, however the most common terminology will be Bao or Steamed Buns. These soft delicious Chinese treats have been in existence for hundreds of years!